The Antipodeans

The Antipodeans Beginning with the return to Venice of an old man determined to confront his past The Antipodeans spans three generations of a New Zealand family and their interaction with three families of Northern

Title: The Antipodeans

Author: Greg McGee

ISBN: 9781927262030

Page: 500

Format: Paperback

Beginning with the return to Venice of an old man determined to confront his past, The Antipodeans spans three generations of a New Zealand family and their interaction with three families of Northern Italy From Venice to the South Island of New Zealand, from the assassination of a Gestapo commander in WWII to contemporary real estate shenanigans in Auckland, from politicBeginning with the return to Venice of an old man determined to confront his past, The Antipodeans spans three generations of a New Zealand family and their interaction with three families of Northern Italy From Venice to the South Island of New Zealand, from the assassination of a Gestapo commander in WWII to contemporary real estate shenanigans in Auckland, from political assassination in the darkest days of the Red Brigade to the vaulting cosmology of particle physics, The Antipodeans is a novel of epic proportions where families from the opposite ends of the earth discover an intergenerational legacy of love, blood and betrayal.

One thought on “The Antipodeans”

I won this book on the Good Reads giveaway (first reads)programme. Thanks very much for that.When I look at my old review ofby Donna Tarte I often contemplate changing the four star rating. Sure it was an engrossing story - in parts. But in other parts it was an exhausting slog & sometimes I wondered if I was ever going to get through it. Certainly other books in my reading pile looked far more enticing!& this is how I felt about The Antipodeans a large part of the time.Yes, it was an in [...]

I'm loving reading this new version in paperback The Antipodeans published by lightning books . It's the first UK publication of the epic wartime love story that took New Zealand by storm. It's now taking me by storm. I can't put it down. I'm loving the mix of historical and fictional characters.

It took Greg McGee thirty years to complete this book, the seed planted in the mid 1970s when he was playing rugby in the north-east of Italy, living amongst Italians, speaking the language, absorbing himself into being Italian. At that time it was only thirty years since the end of the second world war, a war which tore Italy apart - one minute Italy was an enemy, next minute it was an ally - so still very fresh in people's minds. Many NZ soldiers fought in Italy during the war, and in the nort [...]

I won this book via .I have only just started reading Fiction after a lifetime of reading Travelogue and Autobiography type books. So this book was great transition with elements of both and set in both the present time and the second world war with a lot tie in to true happenings and timeframed events.Personally I found the backwards and forwards across the eras hard to cope with, so I decided to read the book as two (not sure if the author would approve). First I read all chapters of 2014 stor [...]

I would like to thank the Author for putting this book up to win. It was a big read, but an interesting one.It is set in Northern Italy and Venice and New Zealand over three different era's 2014, 1942-1944 and 1976. It all ties in together but you don't find out how till later on in the story.It's about war, love, heartache and family secrets which makes it hard on the next generation who have no idea what's going on. It's also about the good the bad and the ugly of war and people.It does have s [...]

Master Kiwi storyteller and playwright, Greg McGee, has woven a searing tale of love, loss and rebellion in his WWII novel, The Antipodeans. The war is sewn into the fabric of three generations and each thread is dramatically unravelled until, eventually, the reason that these people are in this story at this time, becomes clear. McGee impressively handles an expansive time period without it feeling like he's skipping from one dramatic moment to the next. The cast of characters is large so I rec [...]

Loved it. It was totally absorbing, well written, believable. As a New Zealander whose grandfather, great uncle and father saw active service in WW1 & 2 it explained a lot. I hope they make it into a film.

An easy reading and compelling epic of a novel, by a thoroughly authentic New Zealand novellist. McGee has been a steady writer of work which has consistently garnered acclaim on the stage, tv and in print. An apostle of the statement, "Good writers are great readers"; The Antipodeans is a clear reflection of the belief, with eloquent insertions of quantum mathematics, newtonian physics and the consequences of nazism, fascism, and the evolution of political awareness in the NZ workforce.The Anti [...]

This is a good read although the style is a bit patchy in the beginning. I noted that the narrative pertaining to the past was better than the modern day story of the young woman.In this story a New Zealander and his daughter return to Venice where he spent a lot of time during the war. The story swaps time frames as we learn of the time he spent in the Italian Resistance, the people he is looking for in the present and the years after the war spent in New Zealand.The stories are good, the writi [...]

Won through First Reads.Unfortunately, the book's 2014 storyline is the reason I've rated this book so poorly. I couldn't stand Clare, which essentially made half the book an unenjoyable slog. The pages-long discussions about physics were also completely out of place, not to mention incredibly boring. I wish McGee had stuck to the 1943-45 storyline, which is what drew me to the book in the first place.

I do not like books about the world wars. However this was certainly a very well researched and in- depth look at the consequences of countries torn apart by war, and the devastating effect it has on families for several generations.The various twists in the narrative kept me reading and I admired the author's ability to tie in so many threads in the complicated relationships and war time events. A great ending to a complex situation.

Again I have had the problem whether to rate three or four stars - it is a three + in my view. The portions of the book set in Italy in the 1940s are chilling. However the present day dissertations on physics, while I understood (I think!) the relevance, were somewhat tortured and overworked.

I read most of this novel in Rome. The gear change in the final 100 pages or so is extraordinary. I was so enthralled I missed my stop on the 913 bus – which in ordinary circumstances nobody in their right mind would stay on for a second longer than they had to.

Of all the books I have read and reviewed this year, this is outstanding and I think, the best.It is without a doubt a novel of epic proportions. It spans three generations of two families on the opposite sides of the world.It begins with a terminal ill lawyer going to confront his past in and around Venice. He is accompanied by his recently separated and about to be divorced daughter. She knows little of his past and almost nothing of the time he spent in Italy after the Second World War. [...]

I loved reading this book. From the off, the style of the novel makes you want to keep reading to see how all of the stories and characters are connected, and this continues all the way through until the end - a rare accomplishment in my experience. Hopefully I'll come back to elaborate on this review later, but in brief:-from an historical perspective, it was so fascinating to think about the 'other wars' that took place during WW2, away from the main fighting. It was such a huge war, and affec [...]

I plodded my way through this one. It tells the story of three generations of New Zealanders and Italians who are connected in ways that most of them don't understand. Some of the story is set in Italy during World War 2 and that was the most engaging storyline. The modern protagonist, a thirty-ish kiwi woman with a failed marriage, wasn't as interesting or convincing and some of her conversations with the sexy Italian physicist left me cringing. The cheating husband was worse! The fact that he [...]

A great read - hard to put down. But I did find it difficult at times to remember who was who (particularly at the end). Also I didn't really get the long physics discussions - I didn't really see the relevance of it to the story.

I enjoyed this book but found it a bit disjointed I don't usually mind jumping between time periods but this one didn't flow The part set in the WWII was all over the place and I had to reread it as I thought I'd missed something out

I think this is one of the best books I've read all year. I'd put off reading it as I've started and stopped reading some really awkward Kiwi novels this year. This however turned out to be wonderful. There are two parallel stories happening in this book, and then a third layer is added. The connection between the stories is not obvious and I was wondering what it could possibly be. My initial guesses were wrong. Then when the connection does become clear I was still confused by the point of vie [...]

This is a novel that swings from being a romance, to a war story, to something for the rugby fans, to a mystery, to the typical Man Alone NZ book. It manages to hold all these elements together, and there are some interesting surprises along the way. Large chunks of it are straight narrative, however, and sometimes you just wished the characters would get a chance to speak more for themselves. I would have enjoyed the ending more if it had moved more swiftly to its conclusion - there wasn't a lo [...]

This was great in parts but in others, I just wanted it to get on with it. The war parts of the plot were really great, engaging and I was driven to find out what was going to happen. The author tries to do a lot of things and cover a lot of ground. Sometimes this is really successful but at others (the rugby scenes and the stuff about the daughter's marriage in particular) seemed superfluous to the story and I needed to skip over them. I liked the clever linkages and the big mystery but in plac [...]

Well written tale with a great insight into war-time / occupied Italy. Those with a Kiwi heritage such as I have, possibly relate better to the small town boy ending up a fugitive in a war torn country, but you don't have to be an Antipodian ? to enjoy the book. Towards the end I did have to keep checking back to confirm just who loved who - or what off-spring they produced, but that's probably just my waning brain cells - otherwise a good read that had the final few chapters delivered slightly [...]

I really struggled to get through this book and I probably should have given up. Initially I disliked the modern timeline and found the female character irritating. I then disliked the parts set in Italy during the war so much than I couldn't wait for it to switch back to the modern day part of the story. Overall it felt disjointed and I found the diary excerpts very hard to read.

Really really loved this. I would rate it as good as, or in some ways even better than, Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries. It is powerful, exciting, and emotional. certainly made me cry near the end. It is both a love story and a war story. Very incitful of the War times in both New Zealand and Italy. Truly recommend you read this one

Wonderfully written book set both in present day and during the Second World War in Italy. This story follows two New Zealand South Island farm boys from Oamaru and their war time experiences. So well woven together was hard to put down. Definitely worth a trip to the library to find, or maybe even one to own for the permanent collection.